by Nguyen Hung

In operation since February 2011, the dam sits on a seismic zone. In the past month, 15 quakes have been recorded in the area. Cracks have appeared, and 30 litres of water are leaking each second. The company that built the plant says it is safe, but local residents are scared.

Quảng Ngãi (AsiaNews) - Two quakes hit the central Vietnamese province of Quảng Ngãi, raising more fears among the 100,000 residents who live down from the Sông Tranh 2 hydro-electrical power dam, which now has many small cracks that leak water (pictured).

Built by Electricity Viet Nam (EVN) at a cost of 5.2 billion dongs (US$ 250 million), the dam came into operation in February 2011. It is the largest dam in central Vietnam, 640 metres long and 98 metres high with a capacity of 730 million cubic metres that can generate 190 MW.

The area where the dam was built is earthquake-prone. Between 15 August and 17 September of this year, some 15 quakes were recorded, the most powerful reaching 4.2 on the Richter scale.

Last week's quakes affected 17 homes, two schools and a number of offices, the Bắc Trà Mỹ People's District Committee reported.

The 100,000 residents living at the foot of the dam are afraid because small cracks have appeared in the structure, with water leaking day and night.

Between 8 and 12 September, experts conducted geological surveys and examined the dam's impermeability. However, they failed to agree on the cause of the leakage or on solutions.

Residents are very concerned that their lives and property could be swept away.

Local authorities and experts have not been able to find common ground, and have sent various reports to central government ministries.

The Vietnam Electricity Group said that the concrete is not damaged and that current permeability (30litres/second) does not affect the dam's safety.

Other experts are not sure what is causing the leakage and that there is a risk the dam may break.

Vietnam Electricity Group Deputy Manager Lưu Thế Biểu said the dam is safe and can resist even more powerful earthquakes.

"The dam has been repaired and we are preparing to collect water for the rainy season," he explained.

A local resident told AsiaNews that the dam "is a bomb hanging over the heads of 100,000 people living in the area. It costs billions of dongs. Since it was completed last year, it has leaked. This makes people not believe the authorities."

• vietnam
• quakes
• hydro-power
• dam
• dangers